ON May 9, Barisan Nasional may face an all-Malaysian tsunami, a DAP parliamentary candidate in Penang said, despite recent analyses that any swing in Malay support would not be enough for Pakatan Harapan to win Putrajaya.

Steven Sim, the incumbent Bukit Mertajam MP, said there are people silently rejecting BN these elections, like in 2008, which resulted in Penang, Perak, Kedah, Kelantan and Selangor falling to the opposition.

“In 2008, the Chinese wore BN shirts but supported the opposition. While wearing BN shirts, they whispered ‘Shhhh…let BN fall’,” he told a crowd of about 1,000 in Bagan, Penang, yesterday.

Sim, a regular DAP campaigner and ceramah speaker in Malay areas, said he recently went campaigning for party colleague Liew Chin Tong, who is contesting against MCA deputy president Dr Wee Ka Siong in the 58% Malay Ayer Hitam parliamentary seat in Johor.

He and a group of DAP members went into a Malay kampung, knocking on doors to seek local support for PH. One house had a huge BN flag.

“I knocked anyway and asked the pakcik for his support. He quietly told me he would vote for PH this time. I was surprised because he had this BN flag at his house.

“He said while living in a kampung, he could not openly support the opposition. If he did, he would meet unhappy neighbours when he went to the mosque or local coffee shop.

“Najib knows of such developments. He gets reports that hint on such threats against BN’s support… that is why polling day is fixed on a Wednesday,” he said, referring to the May 9 date.

Sim, who is defending his seat, said he had gone to Kedah, Johor and Perak and sensed a change in the people’s sentiments, regardless of their race.

“There will be a Chinese, Malay and Indian tsunami. It will be a Malaysian tsunami because everyone is affected by the GST (goods and services tax). Umno members have to pay GST, too.

“Every Malaysian who pays GST and feels the rising cost of living will feel the pain. People who feel it will stand up.”

PH has pledged to scrap the GST if it wins power in Putrajaya. The 6% consumption tax, which contributes RM45 billion to the federal government, has been blamed for the spike in cost of living. – April 29, 2018.